Netflix Is Raising Prices for U.S. Subscribers

It was bound to happen. Starting today, Thursday October 5, Netflix subscriber prices will be increased for certain plans, but only by a couple of dollars at the most.

The lowest-tier plan won’t change, according to Business Insider, but the most popular “standard” plan — which allows HD and two streams going at the same time — will go up from $9.99 to $10.99 per month. The highest-tier plan which features 4K and four simultaneous streams will go up from $11.99 to $13.99. Current subscribers will start being notified about the change by October 19 and will see the price hikes go into effect in their next billing cycle.

Netflix last hiked up their prices two years ago in October 2015, which sparked plenty of drama as new member subscriber rates were immediately increased and then the company later began increasing the prices for those already subscribed. Another price hike isn’t too surprising though, especially now that Netflix is swiftly moving forward with establishing itself as a force to be reckoned with, not just in the streaming game, but also with producing original content. Snatching Shonda Rhimes from ABC ain’t cheap. Content boss Ted Sarandos says the company will be spending close to $7 billion on original content next year.

Still, even with a price hike, Netflix is still a better deal than cable when it comes to price per hour — Netflix subscribers only pay a third of what cable costs for the same amount of watching time. Now, if Netflix can just start releasing more of its movies in theaters…